Hundreds Protest Bailout in New York City

Several hundred protesters rallied against Bush’s proposed bailout in Manhattan’s financial district today. Protesters heaped their old magazines, vacuum cleaner hoses, knickknacks and other distressed assets under the back end of the iconic Wall Street Bull statue and offered to sell them to Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson.

The motto of the day was, "Buy my shitpile," likely an allusion to Atrios’s famous nickname for the subprime mortgage debacle. Protesters said they wanted a chance to sell their bad investments back to the government for millions of dollars, just like the Wall Street bankers.

This bit of street theater was intended to underscore the message that ordinary people need a bailout and not just corporations, Asked what message he hoped to send, activist Andrew Boyd said, "We hope to show that Americans all across the country beginning to realize what this means, that we’re basically foreclosing on our future. We want people to take a long breath and make sure that Main Street is prioritized in this crisis."

The protest had no official sponsor. Contingents from numerous progressive groups were on hand including Code Pink, Billionaires for Bush, and a well-dressed group who identified themselves simply as "bankers."

The demonstration was catalyzed by an email sent out by a freelance journalist to a group of influential and politically active friends. Organizers said the protest took shape over the last 72 hours as the meme went viral.

Hundreds Protest Bailout in New York City

Several hundred protesters rallied against Bush’s proposed bailout in Manhattan’s financial district today. Protesters heaped their old magazines, vacuum cleaner hoses, knickknacks and other distressed assets under the back end of the iconic Wall Street Bull statue and offered to sell them to Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson.

The motto of the day was, "Buy my shitpile," likely an allusion to Atrios’s famous nickname for the subprime mortgage debacle. Protesters said they wanted a chance to sell their bad investments back to the government for millions of dollars, just like the Wall Street bankers.

This bit of street theater was intended to underscore the message that ordinary people need a bailout and not just corporations, Asked what message he hoped to send, activist Andrew Boyd said, "We hope to show that Americans all across the country beginning to realize what this means, that we’re basically foreclosing on our future. We want people to take a long breath and make sure that Main Street is prioritized in this crisis."

The protest had no official sponsor. Contingents from numerous progressive groups were on hand including Code Pink, Billionaires for Bush, and a well-dressed group who identified themselves simply as "bankers."

The demonstration was catalyzed by an email sent out by a freelance journalist to a group of influential and politically active friends. Organizers said the protest took shape over the last 72 hours as the meme went viral.